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Back home, doctors thought Perryn Miller’s headaches were caused by his glasses.

As KUTV News reports, 2018 was a tough year for the Miller family. They lost their home in North Carolina to Hurricane Florence. What’s more, 8-year-old Perryn spent months suffering from persistent headaches. His father, Jacob, told KUTV:

“Doctors [in North Carolina] said it was his glasses and he would get used to prescription.”

Because Perryn is an active and healthy boy, his parents accepted that explanation — until things suddenly got much worse over the holidays.

Jacob is originally from Utah, and after such a trying year, the Millers decided to go back to Utah to spend Christmas with family. While they were there, it was evident that the higher altitude was affecting Perryn. His headaches became debilitating migraines, and he began vomiting.

Perryn’s parents rushed him to the hospital and were stunned to learn that Perryn needed emergency brain surgery. Jacob told KUTV:

“They let us know he had a brain tumor that needed to be operated on immediately.”

After a successful seven-hour surgery, Perryn was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma multiforme, a rare and aggressive brain tumor.

According to the American Brain Tumor Association, glioblastomas are malignant brain tumors. Symptoms include headaches, nausea, balance and memory issues, sensory changes, and seizures. More common among adults, glioblastomas require multiple treatment methods. Most victims only survive one to three years after diagnosis.

There are, however, factors that increase the chance of beating the cancer, and the Millers are optimistic that Perryn will be an exception. The survival rate for children is about 20 percent, and Perryn started treatment immediately. Moreover, the surgeon was able to remove the tumor entirely.

Now, Perryn is staying in Utah to continue chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

“[Perryn’s] got a long journey ahead of him.” Jacob told KUTV. “[…] He’s strong; he will be able to do it.”

Friends have started a GoFundMe campaign to help the Miller family cope with the medical and travel bills. Meanwhile, Jacob is thankful they decided to go back to Utah for Christmas, as it may have saved his son’s life. As he told KUTV:

“If we hadn’t come out here, we wouldn’t have been able to catch it in the amount of time that we did.”

You have to be your own child’s advocate when you know something is wrong and yet medical professionals are telling you something else. We trust our doctors, but believe me when I say they are not always correct. In the medical profession I have seen countless misdiagnosis and I personally encountered one with my son that resulted in surgery and permanent damage to his ureter and kidney that he will always have issues with. I am so sorry to know what Perryn has to endure and I wish him the best and speedy recovery.

You have to have an advocate on your side when sick , I was my dad’s until the end , but he was misdiagnosed on several occasions in different ” reputable hospitals ‘, if he had not had my son and myself literally fighting for him he would have died years before his time. My advice : do your own homework and don’t trust the first medical advise you get.